Ponzi Scheme

"Investors are promised high returns and, at first, it appears to be successful and profitable. This attracts new investors. The money from the new investors is then used to pay off the original investors and the cycle continues.

The company or investment never makes a real profit. It just redistributes the money and claims it’s profitable. So, as long as there is a stream of new investors, it at least appears as if everything is going well.

But, eventually, new investors dry up and the scheme collapses, generally just leaving the person at the top with all the money".

Source: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/blog/scams-and-fraud/what-is-a-ponzi-scheme-and-is-it-a-scam